Friday, November 27, 2015

From MaryJoG

Our black Friday is gray,
looking like snow. Wednesday was a nasty day with snow, wind and then rain
leaving a slushy mess. Most is gone but it is cold and more is on the way.
Yesterday was sunny and white. Marion, your pics are a delight. Spring is a
way off for us.

Every fifth Thanksgiving, my ex
hosts and I abstain. We tolerate each other but going to his home would be too
much. (Too many memories of abuse. It is evident that the long ago divorce was
a blessing for this family.) The other years are at the kids' or my home and
are delightful. My off year is spent volunteering for the local mission. We
fed +2000 on Wednesday and sent food boxes home for families who preferred to
cook. The plan
yesterday was to quilt but I woke in a different mode. The house is now
decorated for Christmas. It was a good day.

I experimented with
another gluten free dressing recipe. One of these days I will accept that
gluten is what makes bread good and there are no decent substitutes. Crumbly
dressing but getting better. Last year it was gluey, not good. Consistency is
the problem. Knowing that, this one had half veggies and much less bread. So,
the taste was great. May try wild and brown rice instead next time. Roasted
chicken, orange sweet potatoes, salad and a parfait completed the meal. Much
will be frozen for times I want to quilt instead of cook. Did cook a turkey for
the grandkids for an early T. Day before they headed home. Still do Sunday
dinners for them. Three are in the local college plus one's wife and friends.
Up to eight come each week.

My grandson worked at
a seed company for several years and learned that GMO wheat seeds contain
pesticide, fertilizer and four times the gluten that it used to have. No wonder
we have an epidemic of intolerance. My parents were celiac; am much better off
with only intolerance. The seeds were developed to be drought resistant and to
be used in hungry third world countries . They are used here because the wheat
is much easier to grow. We wintered in Yuma for two years and watched how other
crops were grown. Fields were bare, then flooded with fertilizer and
pesticides. They were covered with black plastic for a week, then planted.
Once harvested, the cycle began again. We often saw three crops during a
winter. And, we stopped eating that manufacturer's products.

No shopping here for
black Friday. Only enjoy shopping at quilt stores nowadays. This is a great
day to spend upstairs in the quilt room working on UFO's. Several are Christmas
projects. Fred and Sadie, the cats, help by lying on whatever I have out. They
are enjoying the flannel quilt most. Will either quilt it or a table topper
today. And, there are six to bind. Not my favorite chore. Read Mary
Maschuta's book on quilting with a walking foot. She uses a very heavy top
thread and regular in the bobbin. I am able to use bottom line for the bobbin.
About ten stitches to the inch makes a real statement. Am very happy with the
first quilt done that way. It gave a great contrast to the curvy free motion
quilting in the quilt's center. Used it in the border.

3 Comments:

MaryJo, I don't read your postings until I put them up on the Chat Board so it's a surprise and delight for me to read what is in them. How honest you are about the effects of an abusive relationship and what it can do to a family. There are sometimes high prices to pay for walking away from a situation like that when children are involved. I am continually amazed at the common sense and practical way you deal with your life, underscored and supported by your love of making quilts. It has been much the same for me for the over fifty years I've been making quilts and working with textiles. Always a project on hand and when there is not, there is mild inner panic as to what will I do with myself and my time (although the bed & breakfast for four mos. of the year keeps me pretty busy). Quilting has been my emotional security, my emotional peace within myself. And only added to that is a lovely cat or two or dog or two to sit in the studio with me. Meg, my three and a half year old Australian Shepherd and red tri, is my shadow. Lying here right now, she's snoozing on alert. I move, she moves. She is a great comfort. Annie, over four, is a drama queen and requires more patience. It is a grey day here today, Black Friday they call it here in Canada as well, though tagging onto the US Thanksgiving shopping concept; another way to keep commercialism going. I will have two rooms of guests out tonight and muffins need to be made now for guests coming in off the hiking trails.Rosey

Mary Jo- Thanks for the information on GMO. Here in "the south" we (I) use corn bread for dressing. My husband doesn't really like it, but I do, so I make both! I have no idea what they call corn bread in other places, but it is made with corn meal. No wheat at all.Our Thanksgiving was wild and strange with SIL, DD, 4 grands and his Italian parents here in the condo. More later. Thanks for your insights.Sara in Fla.